Bicyclol attenuates pro-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine productions in CpG-DNA-stimulated L02 hepatocytes by inhibiting p65-NF-κB and p38-MAPK activation

Bicyclol, a novel synthetic anti-hepatitis drug, has a potent hepatocyte-protective effect and a mild anti-hepatitis virus function. However, its pharmaceutical effects and mechanism are still unclear. In the present study, we found that bicyclol pre-treatment could attenuate the production of the inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-18) and chemokines (MCP-1, MIP-1α and Rantes) and inhibit the activation of the p65-NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways in CpG-ODN 2006-stimulated L02 hepatocytes in a dose-dependent manner. Collectively, these results suggest that bicyclol could exert its hepatocyte-protective effect through attenuating CpG-ODN 2006-stimulated inflammatory responses in L02 hepatocytes, which might be associated with the activations of NF-κB and MAPK pathways.